The Study Hacks Every Student Should Know

You can spend hours highlighting notes, rereading chapters, and studying late at night, yet still struggle to remember what you learned. The problem may not be how much you study, but how you study. Research on learning shows that some of the techniques that feel most productive are not necessarily the ones that help you learn best. 

Why Testing Yourself Helps You Learn?

One of the most effective study techniques is practice testing, which means actively testing yourself instead of simply rereading your notes. Also known as active recall, this method strengthens memory by making the brain recall information rather than just recognize it on the page.

A study by Roediger and Karpicke found that students who practiced recalling information remembered more of it a week later than those who spent the same amount of time rereading the material.

In practice, close your textbook and try to explain or write down everything you remember about a topic. Then check your notes to see what you missed. This is usually more useful than simply highlighting the same pages again.

Why Is Cramming Not the Best Way to Remember?

The second highly effective technique is spaced practice, which means spreading study sessions over several days instead of trying to learn everything in one long session. This is also known as distributed practice.

Research reviewed by Dunlosky found that students remembered more after spaced study, with 47% recall compared with 37% after the same material was studied in one concentrated session.

The benefit becomes even stronger when spaced practice is combined with practice testing. Instead of reviewing only what was studied that day, test yourself on material from several days or weeks earlier. This gives your brain repeated opportunities to retrieve the information and strengthen the memory.

Why Are Highlighting and Rereading Not Enough?

Here is the part many students may not want to hear: highlighting, underlining, and rereading are not among the most effective study techniques. The Dunlosky review rated them as low-utility methods. This does not mean they are completely useless, but they are less effective than practice testing and spaced practice.

One reason students rely on them is that rereading feels easy and familiar. Seeing the same information repeatedly can create the feeling that you know it, even when you may struggle to recall it without looking at your notes. During an exam, however, the answer is not sitting on the page in front of you. That is why actively recalling information is generally more useful than simply reading it again.

Why Mixing Topics Can Improve Learning?

Interleaving means mixing different topics or types of problems during a study session instead of practicing one type repeatedly. Although it can feel more difficult and less productive at first, that extra challenge can help improve learning and memory.

For example, if an exam covers several related topics, do not finish all the questions on one topic before moving to the next. Instead, mix questions from different topics throughout your practice session. This may feel less comfortable, but it can help you remember how to approach different types of problems when you encounter them later.

Why Is Rest Part of Studying?

Even the most effective study techniques work better when you get enough sleep. Research shows that sleep plays an important role in memory consolidation, helping the brain strengthen and store what you learned during the day.

Studies have found that sleep deprivation can make it harder to learn new information, while getting enough sleep after studying can improve retention. So, staying up all night to cram may give you more hours of study, but it can make it harder for your brain to remember what you studied.

What Effective Studying Actually Looks Like?

To sum up, effective studying does not have to mean studying for longer hours. Test yourself instead of simply rereading, spread your practice across several days, mix related topics when appropriate, and make sure you get enough sleep.

These methods may feel harder than highlighting or cramming, but research suggests they are more likely to help you remember what you learn. The goal is not to study more, but to study in ways that actually work.

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